Slack-take-up for air-brakes



(No Model.)

L. GUILLEMET.

SLAGK TAKE-UP PoR AIR. BRAKES.

No. 482,040. Patented Sept. 6, 1892.

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UNITED STATEsf PATENT OFFICE.

LEoNIDAs GUILLEMET, oF SAN FEANCIsCo, CALIFORNIA.

SLACK-TAKE-UP FOR-'AlR-BRAKES.

SPECIFICATION'forInng part of Letters Patenti No. 482,040, datedSeptember 6, 1892. Application tiled December 9, 1891. SerialNo.4414A52. (No model.)

.To @ZZ whom Vit may concern,.- Y

Be it known that'LwLEoNInAs GUILLEMET,

a citizen of France, residing in the city and county of San Francisco,State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Automatic Slack-Take-Ups for Air-Brakes,`of which the following is aspecication.

My invention relates to improvelnents in means or devices for taking upthe slack or lost movement'in the connections between the other parts ofthe apparatus call for an in# crease in the length of travel of thepiston.

The nature of my said improvements and the manner in which I proceed toconstruct, apply, and carry out the same will be understood from thefollowing description and the accompanying drawings.

Figure l represents the slack-take-up mechanism in elevation set inposition under the car between the brake-piston lever and theconnecting-rod of the brake-beam. Fig. 2 is a plan. Fig. 3 shows in plana modification of the slack-take-up with the brake cylinder and levers.Fig. 4f is a longitudinal section on an enlarged scale. Fig. 5representsa construction in which the parts receive a pushing force, orone acting in the opposite direction to that in Fig. 1.

A B are two rods or bars connected by a telescopic or slidingjoint tomove longitudinally upon each other, but locked by a set of teeth ornotches on one part and a pawl or pawls on the other part, the teethbeing of such shape that they permit the two bars to slide in but not todraw out.

In the present construction (represented in Figs. 1 and 2 of thedrawings) the bar or part A is bored or slotted longitudinally to takethe part B. A pawl D, pivoted at dx`on lthe part A and held up byaspring d2, sets agamst a rack bx, formed on the bar B. Aguide-pin b2 onthe end of the bar B is fitted to slide in a groove or slot ax to keepthe two sliding parts'from separating. y

Mounted on the part A is a slide-bar C, having independent movement, toa limited extent, in a longitudinal direction and projecting at bothends beyond the part A and in line with two Xed stops or abutments G Gon the car-timbers. Movement of the slide-bar C in one direction isprevented by ratchet-teeth a2 on the part A and a pawl E, carried by thebar; but the form ofthe teeth permits the bar to slide on the partA inthe opposite direction. The pawl is plvoted at EX to a lug on the bar C,and is held into the rack by a spring E2. The bar is held by rollers c4c4, between which and the face of the bar it is iitted to slidesmoothly. The ends of the two-part sliding bar are connected to thelevers I-l I of the brake mechanism'or' are placed in some other similarposition in the brake apparatus where 1tw1ll apply a pulling strain toanother lever or part of the mechanism. "When the brakes are off, theend c of the slide C sets against the fixed stop Gr, and as the brakesare applied a pulling strain on the bar causes the opposite end; toadvance toward the fixed stop GX. The parts are so adjusted that 1f thebrakes are brought full on by the normal or ordinary travel of thepiston the end c3 of the slide will approach but will not strike thestop GX. Any increase in this length to travel beyond this point,however, will bring the slide-bar against the stop GX and shift the pawlof the slide one or more teeth on the ratchet. By this movement theopposite end of the slide is set forward, or toward the stop G, andconsequently on the return stroke, by which the brakes are taken off,the slide will strike and be arrested by the stop and will hold the partA, while the partB is moved in the space of one or more notches on theratchet bx. The two-part connecting-bar is thus shortened during thereturn movement of the brake-levers in releasing the brakes.

The modication represented in Figs. 3 and IOO 4 has the slide-bararranged to engage with and be moved by the brake-levers instead ofdirectly by the fixed stops. The slide at one end sets in line with oneend of afree lever J, that is placed behind the brake-lever I, with itsopposite end just back of the outer end of that lever and in position tobe struck on the backward movement of the brake-lever, while theopposite end of the bar C is in front of the lever H, to which thepiston is directly connected. The lever .I is pivoted at la on thebottom of the car. The ends of the slide-bar, coming in contact with thelevers H and J, shift the slide-bar on the part A and regulate the throwor movement of that partin the same manner as the Xed stops G G beforedescribed.

Fig. 5 is constructed to bear a pushing force, the racks being set inreverse direction to those in the construction Figs. l and 3. Thismechanism could be connected at one `end to the piston-rod and at theother to the brakelever, as illustrated in Fig. 5, or it can be set inany other position Where it Will sustain a pushing force. Theslack-take-up thus constructed is susceptible of being placed in aVariety of positions to operate in connection with most of the presentforms and arrangements of brake-levers, and it can be placed to connecta lever with a lever or with a rod or with its fulcrnm-point. It willtake a longer throw of the piston-rod beyond its normal or ordinarytravel before the pawl of the slidebar will act on the ratchet-teeth ifthe device is placed at the end of a lever that has less amount. oftravel than the piston-rod; but the teeth can be made suitably fine orshort to cause the pawl to act as soon as the travel of the piston-rodexceeds by an inch or less its regular throw. Strong springs on the pawlare employed to produce considerable friction and hold the pawls in theteeth, so that they shall not slip out of position.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. The herein-described slack-take-up i'or i air-brakes, consisting ofthe two-part bar or part A B, the ratchet-teeth and pawl as a means ofconnecting the said parts to permit longitudinal movement of one part onthe other in one direction, but to lock them together against movementin the opposite direction, the slide-bar C, of greater length than thetwo-part bar, and means by which the same is locked to the two-part barin one direction and is allowed to slide in it in the opposite directionto shift it longitudinally thereon, and stops or abutments setting inthe path of said slide-bar to engage the ends thereof and limititsmovement, constructed and combined for operation substantially asdescribed.

2. In a slack-take-up for airbrakes, the combination, with the lever ofthe brake-piston and the lever, rod, or other part to be operatedthereby, of the two-part rod or bar A B, one part or section connectedto the brake-lever and the other part to the rod, lever, or part to bemoved, the two parts sliding inopposite directions one on the other,ratchet-teeth on one part and a spring-pawl on the other part as a meansof connecting said parts together to allow longitudinal movement of theparts on each other in one direction, but to lock them in the oppositedirection, and the slide c and means for locking it to the said parts toaiord longitudinal movement in one direction and to lock it on said partin the opposite direction, and stops or abutments arranged for operationin the path of said slide to limit the movement thereof, substantiallyas described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand andseal.

LEONIDAS GUILLEMET. [LS]

